High School Is Only the Cover Story
by may yuki
Summary: AU High School should be about romance and your grades. But then, why are so many people suffering at this particular school. Perhaps, it's because this school has more to it than meets the eye. Rachel Roth and Artemis Crock are doing what they can to fit in, but there's something going on out there. Couples decided, no yaoi or yuri
1. Sophomore Year Starts at 6:45

**Lefty: *chuckles nervously* May's not here at the moment…she's a bit…tied up.**

***from somewhere* May: LEFTY! I SWEAR TO GOD! THE MINUTE I GET OUTTA THIS, I'M GONNA KICK YOUR SORRY TENNIS-PLAYING ASS! **

**Lefty: *ignores her* Ok, so I'm ignoring all the DC-verse and doing this my own way. Oh and I clearly do not own Wally's alarm song :P**

**On with the story**

* * *

**Richard Grayson 6:44 AM**

Dark blue eyes shoot open seconds before his alarm clock can wake up his whole neighborhood. He pulls back the red and green comforter, sits up, and reaches forward to turn off his alarm clock just as it begins to emit its ear-shattering siren. He climbs out of his soft and comfy queen-sized bed and walks over to his closet, situated to the left of his restroom.

He pulls out his usual clothes: a black jacket to go over a plain, white T-shirt, dark blue jeans, a black hoodie, and places them on his table in the restroom. He pulls out his new, black basketball shoes from its box and places them next to the door. He grabs his comforter and swiftly makes his bed, placing his pillow on top of the blanket. He enters the restroom and begins his daily process of preparation.

After about 15 minutes, he emerges, his jet-black hair gelled back so it's spiky and after throwing his clothes out to the hallway hamper, he returns to his room to grab a pair of dark sunglasses. With that, he picks up his red duffel bag from under his bed and slides down the stair railway, seeing his adoptive father's shadow in the kitchen. "Bruce! Got another cup?" he asks, sitting down at the small dining table.

Bruce Wayne, a man with short, cropped black hair and dark brown eyes, is standing over the stove cooking some eggs, bacon, and sausage. He stops cooking for a moment to grab the 2nd cup of coffee and slide it towards Richard, the coffee barely splashing over the rim. "Thanks," he utters, taking a long sip of the coffee as Bruce continues cooking.

"So, Richard, what sport do you plan on doing after basketball is over?" Bruce asks, moving the eggs around with his spatula. Richard reclines in his chair, listening to the sizzling noises of their breakfast on the stove. He contemplates over the sports they have available at Jump Harbor. There's football, volleyball, tennis, badminton, baseball, swim, water polo, track, even golf.

With a shrug, he replies, "Not sure yet; I could try out for swim or water polo this year. Golf seems too boring, football's too aggressive, baseball takes too long, and badminton and tennis seem to have a lot of conditioning."

"Too bad it doesn't have gymnastics," Bruce states as Richard nods in agreement.

"Well, I heard Water Polo is having their annual meeting after school so I'll go. After Water Polo, I'll go for basketball, and then join Track."

"Just as long as your grades don't drop, you can join the sports." With the sports settled, Bruce turns off the stove and places his share of breakfast on his plate and then Richard's.

Richard sighs contentedly, despite the fact that his biological parents had died in that trapeze accident, Bruce Wayne was an excellent father. He glances down at his breakfast and grimaces behind his hand. But his cooking leaves something to be desired.

* * *

**Victor Stone 6:45 AM**

Victor's eyes groggily blink open as his Sony Ericcson phone continues buzzing. He turns it off, sitting up and letting out a big yawn. He places his phone on the side table and heads straight into the restroom. He had already chosen what to wear the night before: a white tank top with his football team jacket with a pair of black shorts. In about 10 minutes, he's running down the stairs to make his breakfast. His parents are at work…again, and they had left no note or anything for him. He sighs, wondering when he'll actually have a conversation with his parents that's more than two sentences. They're always in the lab, doing Heaven knows what.

His thoughts are interrupted when his phone vibrates, indicating that he has a message. He swallows the cereal in his mouth, places the spoon back onto the bowl with a _clink_, and pulls out the phone. He opens the message and smirks; Richard's offering to drive him to school. He quickly replies saying to come by in about 5 minutes and resumes eating. Finishing his breakfast, he washes the bowl and spoon and walks over to the front door. He sits down at the bottom of the stairs to start lacing up his black running shoes. Just as he finishes, three honks from a car outside can be heard. He grins, putting on his team hat, grabbing his duffel bag, and he's out the door. Yep, sophomore year's gonna be fun.

* * *

**Kory Anders 6:50 AM**

_Chirp! Chirp-chirp! Chirp-chirp!_

A tan hand taps on the alarm on her side table and her green eyes blink open. She pushes herself up with a smile and walks over to the window across her bed. "What a glorious day to begin my 10th grade year at Jump Harbor!" she exclaims happily to nothing in particular. As she happily hums to a song and gathers her clothes for the day, she can hear pounding in the room next door. "Sister?" she asks.

"Oh just shut the hell up! It's 6 in the fucking morning!" her older sister, Amanda Anders, yells from behind the wall. Kory frowns briefly before returning to her preparations. Her youngest sibling, William Anders, had probably left the house already. He has 0 period, therefore making him get up earlier than the both of them and go to his class. Her father would drive William to school first before going to work as CEO of a recycling plant. Their mother is a housewife that has to put up with Amanda's consistent trouble-making gang coming in and out of the house. As the thoughts continue to run through her mind, she prepares herself as Amanda texts her friends in the room next door. "You better hurry up, since I need my turn in there too!" she threatens.

After 10 minutes, Kory walks out and Amanda shoves her out of the way. She sighs, grabbing her small purple bag and walking down the stairs to the kitchen. "Good morning, mother," she greets. Her mother turns around, smiling wearily. "Is William at school already?"

"Yes…I can't believe he chose to have an elective and History."

"Perhaps he is trying to rectify what Amanda has done?" Kory suggests. Their sister didn't exactly…graduate, you see. After getting in so much trouble, the school refused to let her graduate. She took matters into her own hands and forged a certificate to show to her parents. Kory and William had found it strange so they decided to investigate it, thus finding out that the graduation certificate was forged.

Her mother sighs again, "I'm not sure, Kory. All I want is for you and William to _not_ go down that path. And I hope you can stop those old friends of yours before it's too late." Her mother is referring to two of her friends: Artemis Crock and Rachel Roth. Rachel isn't a bad student, per se, but she's slowly getting there. The only one there to support her is Kory since no one seems to trust her. Kory shakes off this train of thought and nods to her mother.

"I will make sure they do not follow Amanda," she vows, more to herself.

* * *

**Jackson Hyde 6:50 AM**

Unlike the rest of his friends, Jackson Hyde is swimming around in the school pool. Since he kept winning all the swim meets, the school has allowed him access to the pool. He climbs out of the pool, water dripping down his dark skin and the black tattoos snaking down his arm. He walks to the other side of the pool again to get on the board. He gets into position, clearing his mind and preparing himself to dive into the pool. Arms extended out, legs poised, his eyes open, he bends downwards with his fingers pointed at the water. He imagines the whistle and leaps into the water with a _SPLASH_! He jets across the water for a moment before he begins his strokes to the other side. He touches the ledge and pushes his head up, barely out of breath. He turns around, hearing faint clapping from the bleachers.

"Not bad, fish boy," his girlfriend, Tula, mocks. He smiles, and gets out of the pool.

"I thought you had a class, Tula," he asks, taking the towel from her. He wipes his head and sits next to Tula.

She scoffs, "I still have a few minutes. I can make it."

"Would you like me to walk you to class?"

Tula stands up and he follows. "Nah, you just keep practicing. I'll be fine. It's not like that man is out of prison already."

"I do not think it is a good idea to be talking about him. You know it is a touchy subject around Rachel," he reminds her, hoping Rachel doesn't appear at the moment.

"I know, I know…but he was only thrown into jail 4 months ago. You can't blame me for being a bit paranoid." He turns back to the pool, placing his towel on the bleachers again.

"I should continue my practice, Tula. You should go to class. I need to make sure we get another League Championship trophy."

She sighs in mock annoyance. "Boys…they always want to impress the girls with their 'trophies'." He smirks as she leaves, closing the gate behind her.

He walks over to the diving board, preparing himself again.

* * *

**Megan Morse: 6:55 AM**

Auburn eyes, shoulder-length red hair, a white T-shirt under a short-sleeved crop top sweater, a skirt, and brown shoes? Yep, it's Megan Morse, rushing to her 0 period class. Her purple messenger bag continues slapping the side of her leg as she runs into the class with her Chemistry book. She quickly regains her breath and sits down next to Tula. "Barely made it, Megan," Tula reminds her. Megan has been doing this in the majority of her classes the year before as well. The only reaction the teachers had during the middle of the year was a facepalm, sigh, and a "Just go to your seat, Megan…"

"Sorry, I overslept again."

"I thought your uncle would wake you up."

"He tried to, but I seem to ignore him and just continue sleeping."

Before they can continue their conversation, their teacher enters, holding some papers in his hands. "All right, sophomores, I'm Mr. Brax and the first thing we're gonna do is check out my syllabus and then I want you to go into groups of 4 and then introduce yourselves.

Megan and Tula already make up half of the group, now they just need to find two more. They spot two people talking to each other, looking around. The four make eye contact and decide that the four will be a group.

* * *

**Connor Kent 6:55 AM**

A 15 year-old with messy, black hair and piercing, blue eyes leaves his room with a black T-shirt with an S logo at the center with blue jeans. He walks into the kitchen and frowns. His parents are at their workplace already and they just left a simple note: "Breakfast on the table. Wish you luck, Connor."

Based on the handwriting, it was his father, Clark Kent, that had written it. He begins, dejectedly, to eat his breakfast wondering why of all jobs, his parents had to choose to be journalists. Every day, he'd wake up with that same note over and over. The only time he got to see them was Mother's and Father's Day and that was usually for at least 30 minutes to an hour since they have to go to work. Even on holidays, they're still stuck in the office. He sighs; the only thing that can always take his mind off of this strained situation is the one sport he loves: football.

As his mind continues to wander around, he hears a honk outside and smirks. One of his teammates must be here to drive him, possibly Mal Duncan. He places the bowl into the sink, writing down a quick note to himself about washing it later. He grabs his duffel bag, ready for a 2nd season as Varsity.

* * *

**Artemis Crock 7:00 AM**

"Artemis, get up! I do not want you late on your first day as a sophomore!" A female voice exclaims as dark grey eyes reluctantly open. She sits up in time to see her mother wheel away in her wheelchair. She trudges into the restroom, grabbing her clothes on the way. Why can't she just stay home? She doesn't want to see those pitying looks on their faces. She and her friend Rachel Roth have been met with judging looks after that…incident with their parents. She's sick of it and she knows Rachel is as well. The only thing keeping her going is the fact that her mother wants her to have a better life than she did when she was in Vietnam. Yes, Artemis Crock is half-Caucasian and half-Asian. She glances over to the other bed with a sullen look. Her older sister, Jade Nguyen, had graduated from Jump Harbor years before the incident so she didn't have to put up with all of the press that showed up when her father was arrested.

Her clothing of choice is a white top with a brown jacket with rolled-up sleeves to go with dark blue jeans and black knee-high boots. But since it was her first day back, she decided to wear a pair of white running shoes. After she finishes her daily preparations, she grabs her backpack and is out the door with a quick "Bye, mom!" Her mother, Paula, knew that she was going to do that so she didn't prepare any breakfast for her daughter. Alone, she sighs. Hopefully, Jade can help her sister through this whole mess. It's been months, but her daughter and Rachel should be over this already. But no, everyone still continues to spread even more rumors about them. The sooner this problem is solved, the better…for both girls.

* * *

**Wally West 7:05 AM**

_When I walk on by, girls be looking like damn he fly_

_I pay to the beat, walking on the street in my new lafreak, yeah_

_This is how I roll, animal print, pants out of control-_

Before the song can continue, a hand flies towards the phone to shut it off. He pushes himself up, shoving the comforter away from him. He lets out a big yawn and rubs his green eyes before walking into the restroom. About 10 minutes later, he reemerges. He is wearing a light blue, short-sleeved shirt with a long-sleeved undershirt to go with baggy brown pants, and red converse sitting by the door. He grabs his black watch from the dresser, slaps it on, and pushes his HTC phone into the left pocket of his pants. "Morning, Uncle Barry!" He yells cheerfully, almost startling his aunt, Iris Allen. His father was abusive and her mother neglected him and his uncle and aunt, Barry and Iris Allen decided to take him in.

"Morning, Wally!" he greets from the dining table. The two begin conversing about Wally's choice of sports again while Iris finishes up the breakfast. Since both men are both big eaters, Iris cooked up 3 eggs, 2 strips of bacon, and two toast for them. She is content with just 2 eggs for breakfast. "So, Wally, are you going to do any other sport besides Track and Field? You're too good in that! You should expand yourself and do other sports."

"Well, I've been thinking about basketball. But there are more athletic people than me when it comes to that sport."

"You could ask Victor and Richard to see if they want to join."

"Nah, they're busy with other sports. I mean, football is all-year and Richard's probably going to be doing Water Polo and Track."

"If he's doing basketball, you could join him. I mean, you'll have a teammate that is also your friend. It'll be fun."

Wally grins, finishing up his breakfast in time to hear three consecutive honking outside. He pushes his chair out, grabs his backpack, and says a quick goodbye to his aunt and uncle. He can't wait for sophomore year.

* * *

**Roy Harper 7:10 AM **

_Whoosh!_

_THUNK!_

The same noise continues as a teenager with auburn hair pointing upwards at the front pulls out another arrow and nocks it to his bow. He pulls it back, taking careful aim, and releases. It lands on the bulls-eye yet again. Before he can reload, he hears faint clapping from above. He glances upwards, and waves at Oliver Queen, the man considerate enough to take him in when his parents had died. "Shouldn't you be stopping soon, Roy? I'm pretty sure Richard and the others are on the way, right?"

"Just give me 10 more minutes! They still have to pick up Wally!" he yells back, turning back to the 4th target.

After 5 minutes, he walks over to pull the arrows out and continue. He lands the first arrow before hearing footsteps behind him on the grass, but he ignores it, knowing he needs concentration for the following targets. "I'm sure you heard about it, right, Roy?"

His second arrow lands on the target and he nods, nocking another arrow. Taking careful aim, he releases it. "I hate how they keep picking on Rachel and Artemis. I mean, it's not their fault their dads are so screwed up." Another _THUNK _can be heard, but the shot is way off. It lands onto the top part of the target and Roy grits his teeth.

"Roy, you shouldn't let your emotions go into your shots. I thought I told you that already."

"I know, but it's frustrating. Everyone's judging Rachel and Artemis for something they didn't even do. It's annoying." He releases the arrow again and it lands within the small red dot, but not enough for him. He wants it to be dead center.

"I heard that the school is going to forbid any mention of that incident unless the two instigate it themselves." He is answered with another arrow finally hitting dead center.

"Good. Hopefully, the two of them will be able to get past it now that the school won't let other students talk about it." He brings his arm down and turns to Oliver. "So, what's for breakfast?" 3 car honks interrupt Oliver before he can reply. "Never mind, I'll get breakfast at school." He pulls off the bag of quivers and places them on the table with his bow. He grabs his backpack and leaves through the backyard gate.

Alone, Oliver sighs. He looks down at the bow and arrows, thinking about the recent news he had heard about the two criminals. "I hope it's not true…" he mutters.

* * *

**Garfield Logan 7:15 AM**

Another yawn is emitted from a boy with messy red hair as he wipes his green eyes. _Why isn't my alarm ringing?_ he wonders, looking over to his clock. There is a note on it and he rolls over to get it.

_Sorry, honey, but I have to work early today. I have breakfast in the fridge for you and I believe I won't be home until late. So you can eat out with your friends, just as long as you come back. –Mom_

He groans, crawling out of bed. "But they have sports now, mom…" he mutters aloud. He grabs his clothes: a black T-shirt under a light blue buttoned and collared shirt to go with black pants. Unlike the rest of his friends, he chooses not to carpool with them. Instead, he had chosen to either bike or walk. Today is one of the days when he should bike, so he quickly prepares himself. He grabs a few toasts, seal them up in Ziploc bags, and he's out the door, running to his green and purple bike in his purple and black shoes. With his black backpack on, he hoists himself up and is down the driveway. Soon, he'll reunite with his friends and sophomore year will officially begin.

* * *

**Rachel Roth 7:30 AM**

The violet-haired teen with the amethyst eyes sits on her favorite chair on the porch, staring out to the streets and her hand poised on top of the sketchbook, ready to draw whatever comes to her mind. She is wearing a black T-shirt with the words "Bring Me to Life" on the back in white and her name emblazoned across her chest with black jeans to go with it. After _that_ incident, she had painted a sentence at the bottom: "Don't judge a book by its cover." Her black converse shoes are by the steps, next to her dark purple jacket and backpack. Her face is a blank canvas, ready to be painted by the outside world, but inside, the girl is seething.

"_Why do I have to go to school? Artemis and I have already given up on our education! There's no one that cares about us, so what's the point?"_

She sighs, letting her hand flow freely on the paper. With one hand sketching whatever comes to mind, she places her left hand under her chin on the armrest, letting it support her. As her hand flies across the paper, her mind wanders to recent events.

The first thing that comes to mind is when the police had shown up to take her father-no he's not her father anymore. He's only a man that used to live with them for the last 14 years. To continue, she wasn't that surprised when the cops showed up and asked for him.

_Her and her mother, Arella, had been in Rachel's room, eating their dinner when the door slammed open. Rachel, ignoring her mother's pleas, had walked to the stairs with their leftovers, peeking down to see who it was that came home. It was her father, Leo "Trigon" Marshall, with his "friend", Lawrence "Crusher" Crock, Artemis Crock's father. They had been discussing something about their victim that night when Leo looked up, noticing Raven._

"_What are you lookin' at us for, you piece of shit?" he growled, Lawrence smirking from behind._

"_Nothing, I was just coming down to wash our bowls," she replied, holding up the bowls and spoons as proof. She came down at about halfway when Leo ascended quickly with Lawrence close behind. She stopped as they turned left, the opposite way from her room. She released a held breath as she continued downwards. But, just as she was going back up the stairs, there was a knock. Before she can open the door, a strong grip clapped onto her shoulder._

"_Don't open it," Leo commanded, his canine teeth jutting upwards even more than before._

"_And why can't I?" she challenged, her brow furrowing in suppressed anger._

_Before either can argue, Lawrence slides down the banister with fear visible in his eyes. "Leo! The…They're here," he announced ominously. Leo's eyes widened in fear and he flung Rachel to the side, making her bump against the wall._

"_Who? What?"_

"_Don't expect me to explain anything to you, brat. It's nothing that you need to concern yourself with."_

_Suddenly, large banging noises can be heard at the door. "This is the police! Open up!" Rachel, with understanding now, snuck over to the door to unlatch the door._

_Leo, catching the movement, grabbed Rachel by the hair, pulling her back to the stairs. "I said don't open it!" Rachel regained her balance and dodged past them to yank open the door. "Damn!" he cursed under his breath as half a dozen guns point to him and Lawrence._

"_Leo Marshall and Lawrence Crock?" The lead officer asked. Silence. "Answer the question!"_

_The officer's eyes darted to Rachel and her tousled hair, clutching her arm which had taken the blow from the collision with the banister. "Leo Marshall is my father," she gestured to her father, the one closest to the door. "And Lawrence Crock is that one." She pointed at the blond-haired "friend" of her father's. "What did you need?" _

_The officer walked past Rachel, pulling out a set of handcuffs and clicking them onto Leo. "Leo Marshall, you're under arrest for allegedly raping 10 females and then killing them. Lawrence Crock is also under arrest for accessory to murder." He strode over to Lawrence and slapped on the cuffs. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in court." As the officer turned away from Lawrence, he immediately raised his foot and side-kicked the officer's side. The rest of the cops ran in, 3 subduing Lawrence and the rest pulling out Leo. The last thing she remembers of that day was her mother's happy and relieved smile._

She sighs again, stopping her quick sketch. Her brow furrows, examining the photo she had just finished. It is a sketch of her and Artemis at the bottom with sullen looks and Leo and Lawrence at the top, their faces contorted in an evil laugh. She managed to draw some flames around the adults and something like a protective barrier around her and Artemis. She hopes that could be true. The both of them are sick of all the accusations and cruel, icy glares from their schoolmates. She smiles, her mind going to Kory and her friends. They're the only ones that haven't judged them poorly. Too bad it took 2 fights and blood being spilled for the school to finally take action and make a rule about the incident.

She sits up, hearing the door swing open. The sweet aromatic smell from the herbal tea permeates her senses and she allows herself a small smirk. Two clinks on the table can be heard to the left of her as she closes her eyes, letting the smell envelop her. "Good morning, mother," she begins. Her mother situates herself onto the chair to the left of the little table.

"Are you ready for sophomore year?" her mother, Arella, asks as the duo takes a quick sip of their tea.

"I don't know…I mean, the last day of school did end without much of a problem, but I've just got this bad feeling for this year. Artemis and I are getting annoyed by talk about it, so maybe I'm just being paranoid."

A slight pressure is placed onto her shoulder and she looks over, seeing her mother with a soft smile. "Rachel, paranoia isn't always a bad thing. After all, you were being paranoid that day too. And look at what happened, we're free of your father and Artemis no longer has to suffer with Lawrence. Learn to trust your sixth sense; it's always helped you, hasn't it?"

Rachel nods, pulling her backpack to her feet. She shuffles the sketchbook into her backpack, with her pencil tucked into the front pocket. She puts on her jacket and slides her feet into her shoes. She turns towards her mother. "I'm off," she states simply, taking one last sip of the tea.

As Rachel walks down the path to her blue bicycle, she doesn't hear her mother's farewell words. "Farewell and I hope that nothing happens this year. This town has suffered enough…we don't need any more deaths…" Arella mutters, holding her hands together like a prayer. Her dark ebony eyes look on as her daughter leaves the residence with a blank expression.

Like everyone else, one can only hope this year goes by without an incident.

* * *

**Lefty: I am invisible…you do not see me…you do not see me…**

**May: *appears from behind* *grabs her by the neck* You're coming with me *drags her away***

**Lefty: *chokes* I-if you want to f-find out…what happens next…review…*passes out***

**May: *laughs* Don't fake it…*chucks Lefty out of the room* *follows after***

**Tristana Graf (Shinigami Titans II): Um…I was recently created, therefore I do not know how the duo operates together. Therefore…*backs away* Review and wait for the next chapter, I suppose... *leaves***


	2. New Year, Same Friends

**After discussing and seeking advice about the reviews from my friends…**

**Note to all you Spitfire and Flinx lovers****: I am doing the story the way I had originally planned it so if you want to keep reading, be my guest. If not, then as much as I appreciated your review, sorry, but I'm going with what I had planned out. And as much as I'd love for all of you to stick around and read, if you don't like the pairing, then leave. Simple as that. As my friends told me, I can't satisfy everyone therefore, I should write how I want to write. **

**Now, to answer the **_**very **_**few people that did not annoy me with Spitfire and/or Flinx requests.**

**The Reviewer: Haha, well, he's just really annoyed with the rumors spreading around.**

**TealCrystalCAT: Finally! Someone that **_**doesn't **_**mind the way I do the pairings. Lol, I appreciate this. Although, I will be doing pairings, just not blatant make-outs…maybe.**

**May: And when you read the pick-up lines, please try not to gag. Even Lefty herself is gagging from the pick-up lines…and she's the one that typed them up!**

**Lefty: Yeah, they're kinda corny so…bear with me. *cough* And I got my own kind of sick and twisted revenge on this one senior that "sexually harassed" me last year. *rubs hands evilly with a chuckle* On with the story!**

* * *

_**Jump Harbor High**_

_**Senior Parking lot**_

_**7: 40 AM**_

The wheels on the blue bicycle continue to turn as Rachel pedals through the senior parking lot to the bike racks. She glimpses at the tennis courts to the right of the parking lot, spotting someone practicing. She ignores it and turns to the bike rack. As she locks it up, another person enters. Rachel sees blond hair and relaxes, just noticing that she had been tense this entire time. "'Sup Rachel," Artemis greets as Rachel stands up, her backpack on her shoulder and sketchpad held in her arm.

"Hi." Artemis finishes locking up the bike and the two stop, hearing two students pass by. Artemis stares at them with contempt in her eyes while Rachel tries to stay emotionless.

"Did you hear about it?"

"What?"

"About those two guys that got arrested last year for rape and murder."

"Oh those two…Lawrence Crock and Leo Marshall, was it?"

"Yeah, I heard their kids go to this school."

"No way! They might come after us as revenge! Who knows what they'll do…"

"Freshman…" Artemis scoffs, glaring at the two. Rachel spots ginger hair bobbing towards them.

Roy stands behind the two freshmen and taps them both on the shoulder before leaning forward with his hands on both their shoulders. "Hey! You may be freshmen, but I'm pretty sure you've heard of the new rule, yeah? Because they've promised detention for anyone talking about that incident. So shut your mouths and I won't tell the administration."

One of them turns around, her blond hair whipping about. Her dark blue eyes lowering and her lips turned upside down obviously shows her frowning. She has a pink headband underneath her pink barrette. She is wearing a pink tank that shows her midriff, possibly intentional, and a pink shirt that is a _bit_ too short. It's pretty clear that she's intentionally screaming "Look at me! I'm a slut!" She grits her teeth and pokes Roy in the chest as Raven and Artemis walks out of the bike rack. "Who are you to tell me what to do? What are you, a cop? Take a load of this guy, Ellen!" She raises her hand and swings it towards Roy, but Artemis blocks her. "Oh! Look at this! It's one of the rapist's kid! Are you here to get revenge on me?"

Ellen Parks, a girl with long brunette hair and wearing a cheerleader outfit emblazoned with blue and gold, grabs the blond's arm and mutters, "Back off, Kitten! Do you really want to be suspended on your first day here?"

"They wouldn't _dare_ suspend me! My daddy can sue the school if I wanted him to!"

"Oh yeah? For what?" Roy smirks, hoping she'll take the bait.

"Obviously for wrong suspension! You'll have no proof that I was talking about that incident!" she grins, folding her arms with her neon pink purse swinging. "It's not like you have a recorder, do you?" She stares at Roy's smirking face and her grin disappears slowly. "Wait…you didn't…?"

Roy produces a recorder, and Rachel can't help but have a small smile play on her lips. "As a matter of fact, I did, so back off before you force my hand."

"Come on, Kitten! Just back off!"

Kitten swats her friend's hand away and points at Roy. "I'll get my revenge soon enough! Just watch your back, you carrot top! And you!" She points at Artemis, but glances at Rachel with an insane glare in her eyes. "You better watch your back! The minute you try and do something, I'm gonna tell my daddy to get you arrested!" She shoves Ellen away and stomps through the gate, her pink boots clacking against the floor.

Ellen turns to Roy and the girls with sadness in her eyes. "S-sorry. Kitten's pretty bitchy in the morning…"

"She seems to be someone that would be bitchy 24/7…" Artemis mutters as she slides her emerald bag onto her shoulder. "Doesn't matter. We'll put up with her." Artemis walks past Ellen and pats her on the shoulder. "Just keep that Kitten away from Rachel …She can do whatever she wants to me, but she's _not_ hurting my friend," Artemis whispers threateningly. "She'll regret it if she does…" Ellen tenses as Artemis walks to Rachel with a cheerful smile. "Let's go in! We've wasted enough time here! I'm pretty sure Kory's here waiting for us already."

Roy brushes past Ellen and follows the girls to their lockers, which are right next to each other and by one of the 300 building doors. "You know, you don't have to put up with this. I could just go and show the tape to the principal right now. It'll be a lesson to the rest of the freshmen," Roy begins as Artemis opens her locker. She pulls out her Vietnamese 2 book and English Literature book as Rachel pulls out her French 2 and Algebra 2/Trigonometry book.

Artemis slams her locker and stares at Roy with annoyance in her eyes. "Just quit it, Roy. That girl's just bitchy. There's no need to send her to the office. She's not gonna learn her lesson any time soon. Besides, our Welcome Back Assembly is scheduled for next Friday and I heard they'll be discussing about this stuff."

"But…"

Rachel interrupts the two with an even louder slam to her locker, causing Roy to flinch. "It's ok, Roy. We'll be fine. You don't have to worry about us so much. Don't you need to go to your locker?" Roy backs off reluctantly, but before he leaves, he places something in Artemis's hand.

"If you need to, just take the tape straight to the office." With that, he heads across the quad to his locker as Artemis stares at the tape in her hand.

"Are you going to hold on to it?" Rachel asks as they begin walking to the two blue tables between the 200 and 400 buildings.

"Probably. I don't like using things like this as insurance since they remind me of him, but we might end up regretting it if I get rid of this…" The two continue their conversation as they ignore the judgmental stares surrounding them.

* * *

Richard, Victor, and Wally get out of Bruce's black Toyota Rav4, waving goodbye to him. As Bruce drives off, Richard spots Roy going in with Artemis and Rachel. "It's funny how he just charged straight out and defended them while we were still in the car," Wally comments, scratching his head.

"I bet you they'll be going out by the end of this month," Victor mutters as he adjusts his duffel bag's strap one last time as they walk in. "I gotta go to the weight room. Our coach wants to talk to us about something, so see ya." He waves and heads off to the weight room while Wally and Richard walk through the 300 building.

"I hate how he keeps talking about those two getting together. What about me? I have needs too!" Wally exclaims, getting a few glances.

"What? Don't tell me you're in love with Artemis," Richard asks, beginning to grin.

Wally immediately slaps his hand onto Richard's mouth, and he glances around to see if anyone's paying attention. When he realizes that it's clear, he removes his hand and whispers to Richard, "Well…I've been mulling it over…I'm not really sure, to be honest…"

"Stammering, a clear sign that you like her," Richard teases, folding his arms. They exit through one of the doors and they head to their lockers, which is in the row right next to the door. Richard has a middle locker while Wally's top locker is diagonally to the right of Richard.

"I don't know…I just keep thinking about her…" he mutters as he pulls out his Vietnamese 2 and Chemistry book. "I mean…I have half of my classes with her! It's gotta mean something!"

"Whatever. I heard Roy has two classes with her too so you better watch your back. And just to let you know, I'm rooting for you, man. Now, I gotta go and report to my class," he says, holding his English and Spanish 2 books. "Later." He pats Wally on the back and heads to the 200 building.

Wally sighs, closing his locker as he leaves. His best friend makes it seem like such a joke when he doesn't even know the truth. Love is so complicated sometimes. He likes…no, maybe even loves Artemis enough to possibly walk to the ends of the Earth for her. His thoughts are interrupted when he bumps into someone. "Whoops. Sorry," he apologizes, looking at the person.

She has waist-length brown hair with pink highlights. Her eyes seem pink, but it could possibly be contacts. She has a blue sweater on that says "Angels Basketball" and blue shorts on to go with her basketball shoes. Wally spots some pink blush on her cheeks and he can't help but notice how pale she looks…like a vampire, even. She shifts her dark duffel bag for a moment before replying, "Nah, it's fine. I wasn't paying attention either." She walks past him without another word and he can't help but stare after her as she walks through one of the doors of the 300 building.

He scratches his head again, wondering if he just fell in love with another girl. He sighs wistfully and turns back around, heading to the 200 building. Maybe he can ask Richard about who that girl was…

* * *

With the occasional echoing slam emitting in the locker room, Jackson emerges from one of the shower stalls with a tower wrapped around his neck. He grabs a part of it to wipe his hair when he spots his coach talking to one of the PE teachers, Mr. Reily. His coach, Coach Mel, is a pretty lax man when it's not practice or a match. Coach Mel has shaggy, dirty-blonde hair to go with a scraggly beard. He has board shorts on and has a blue sweater on with the words "Water Polo" on the front. Jackson puts his towel back into his duffel bag and carries it to his athletics locker, shoving it in and turning towards Coach Mel and Mr. Reily.

"What's up, Jackson?" Coach Mel waves to his star swimmer and Jackson can't help but walk over. "Ready for practice later? I heard Richard Grayson plans to join."

"Where did you hear about that?"

"His pops called me for information just now and I was asking Reily some info about this Grayson kid. You got any info on him?"

"Richard is athletic and some may call him a bit cocky, but I find him a trustworthy person to be put on the team. He is dedicated to things that interest him so if Water Polo and Swim aren't his type of sport, he will most likely leave so we won't worry about him dragging down the team. But that was last year; he possibly could have changed his mind. I would recommend him for our JV team at least since he does not know the rules for Water Polo."

"Hmmm," Coach Mel contemplates, rubbing his beard in thought. "Well, we'll have tryouts after school in the shallow pool while you guys practice in the deep pool. And shouldn't you get to your locker soon, Michael Phelps?"

Jackson smirks; Coach Mel _would_ name him after the Olympic 8-gold medalist swimmer. He shrugs and begins, "I suppose I should. Until later, Coach." He waves at the two teachers and walks out the locker room. He turns right, heading to the 300 building when he runs into Tula. "Tula? I thought you had a 0 period class?"

"Since it was our first day back, they just let us go early. It's much easier this way so we can spend some time together before we have to separate."

"But we have 3 classes with each other."

"Yeah, but we'll be busy so we won't have much time with each other. Now stop protesting so we can keep enjoying the moment," Tula insists, her head leaning on Jackson's tattooed arm. He smiles as the two walk to their lockers.

* * *

Kory unconsciously stands on her toes as she twists her lock around before her locker swings open. She grabs her French 2 book and then stacks her Algebra 2/Trig book on top. She puts away the notebooks she had bought for her other classes and closes her locker just as a jock appears next to her...again. Oh wait; it's the same jock that always shows up at her locker in the morning. She huffs annoyingly and turns to him. "What do you want, Vinh?"

Vinh Santana, the captain of Varsity Football and a senior this year, looks at Kory with a seductive smirk on his face. Vinh is also a playboy, known to have at least 5 girlfriends per month. Word has it that his numbers have increased to 10 every 2 weeks. There are very few girls that haven't fallen under his "seductive spell" and those are the ones that he intends to win over. Kory Anders is just one of them. "Oh, I was just wondering if you have a map." He pauses, waiting for her to answer. When she doesn't, he continues, "Because I just got lost in the forest of your heart."

He reaches out to her, but she shoves him away. Before she can say anything, a monotonous voice speaks up from behind him. "You better find a map for Antarctica."

He chuckles, not even looking at the figure behind him. "And why should I? I'm lost in the forest of Love."

"Because, I'm going to kick your ass all the way to Antarctica if you don't back off from Kory." His eye twitches and he turns around just as water sprays onto his face. The water also splashes onto his Letterman jacket, which drips onto his jeans. He shakes his head, letting the droplets splash around. Kory automatically covers her ears; she just knows some girls nearby are going to start screaming in fangirl-like frenzy.

He grabs Rachel's shirt and brings her up to his level. "What the fuck were you trying to do there?" She stares calmly into his rage-filled eyes and brings up her water bottle.

"You looked like you needed a shower. You sounded dirty and you looked like you had a lot of _heat_ emanating from your body. Unless you don't want me to pour the rest of this down your head, I suggest you back off," Rachel threatens. He growls before letting her go.

"Fine. I'll leave you guys alone…for now. Just because you fought off your dad and his gang _doesn't _mean that you get to just do whatever you want!" Vinh insults, stomping away.

Kory lets out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. "Thank you, Rachel. But that was risky…after all, his teammates might have been nearby. They could have attacked you."

"It doesn't matter. I'll just fight off whoever I have to. Besides, he's the one that was about to sexually harass you so this is merely self-defense."

"Yes, but there are witnesses around here that will most likely cover for Vinh rather than you, considering how he's more famous than you are."

"I don't care. What's one more incident to blemish my record? Trust me; he won't pursue this unless we personally insult him or his beloved football team. And we all know that neither I nor Artemis is going to do that since Connor is our friend. Even if his captain is a total ass."

"Agreed." Kory looks around. "Where is Artemis?"

"She wanted to go to class first so I just let her go. We have the same teacher for Algebra 2/Trig so we'll be fine. Besides, it's only 7:45. I don't know why she'd leave right now."

"It might have something to do with Wally," Richard suggests, appearing behind Rachel and leaning onto her shoulder. Rachel's eyes immediately look downwards, hiding her blush. Kory spots this involuntary action and removes Richard's arm.

"Please, Richard. Give her some respect. She clearly doesn't want any contact for a while."

"Oops, my bad," Richard states, backing off. The blush on Raven's face slowly disappears and after a few calming breaths, she looks around. She frowns, seeing Vinh return with ten of his teammates. "Oh, what's the captain of the football doing here?" Richard shuffles past the girls and stands in front of Vinh. "And what do we, some lowly sophomores, owe to the pleasure of meeting the Captain of the Football team?" Richard asks, a hint of mockery leaking into his tone. Rachel can't help but smirk; only she would notice something like that.

"Out of the way, Grayson. I've got a bone to pick with Vampire over there," Vinh growls, his eyes glaring at Rachel. She crosses her arms and puts on her best poker face, daring him to make a move.

"Yeah, well, she's my friend. What makes you think I'm just gonna let you-" Vinh interrupts Richard by shoving him harshly to the side, making him collide with the lockers. People begin glancing over in their direction, but Vinh doesn't care. The more embarrassment towards the vampire, the better is what he believes.

"I said out of the way, acrobat!" He stomps towards Kory, wrapping his arm around Kory, but she out-maneuvers him and darts beside Rachel. "Come on; why you keep fighting the love?" Rachel steps towards him, standing up to her tallest height but she's still not quite at Vinh's height. "What, Vampire? Man, I thought vampires were taller. How tall are you, anyways? 4 feet and 11?"

"5'5"," she retorts, crossing her arms across her chest. She instinctively ducks as Vinh's fist flies towards her, but Kory, not used to such confrontations, is hit. She clutches her right arm in pain as Vinh recoils as if he was hit, rather than Kory.

"Oh shit! I didn't mean it, Kory! I-I'm sorr-" Before he can finish his sentence, a fist collides with his nose and he staggers back a few steps. He covers his nose, feeling the warm, scarlet liquid leaking out of his nose.

"Get the fuck out of here…before I hurt something more precious than your nose," Rachel threatens, a devilish tone creeping in as she glares at him with anger.

Vinh takes a few steps backwards and turns to his teammates. "What are you idiots waiting for?! Get her! I don't want her to ever do this again! Make her regret fighting the football captain!" Before the football players can reach her, 7 teenagers show up out of nowhere and immediately surround them. Vinh smirks and moves in front of his "followers" and stands at his full height in front of Connor. "Oh, it's the Varsity rookie! What're you doing here, Kent?"

Connor ignores him and just continues staring straight ahead, which unnerves Vinh. Richard, having been helped by Connor, is standing to the side next to Garfield. They're currently staring down two of the jocks while Roy and Wally are opposite. Jackson and Victor are blocking the means of escape for any jocks that might have changed their mind on the "ambush" on Rachel. "I can't believe the captain of the Football team has to call a group of his friends to go and confront one mere sophomore!" Victor mocks, crossing his arms over his chest. Jackson drops his duffel bag down, preparing for a fight by cracking his knuckles and intimidating some of the jocks with his glare. Garfield and Richard glare at the jocks while Wally and Roy are poised to tackle anyone that will try to fight back.

"He must pretty damn weak to rely on his teammates! I mean, Rachel here managed to hurt him twice and he couldn't lay a single blow on her! Instead, he got the girl he wanted to date!" Wally jokes to Roy.

Roy smirks, taking the hint. "Hear that, ladies? Vinh Santana is a guy that can't even fight someone on their own! And she's a girl to boot! He even injured the girl he was trying to hook up with! Do you really want a man that would do that?" The boys start laughing and Rachel spots Vinh's eyebrow twitching and gritting his teeth. She can't help but smirk; in a school that's been distancing her from them, she still has friends that clearly care for her.

Vinh tries to find an opening and barrels his way towards Jackson and Victor. Right before he can pass them, two blows smash into his gut as he flies off of his feet into his jock squad. They catch him before he can fall and Victor steps toward Vinh, grabbing him by his Letterman jacket. "If I see you bothering my friend again, you're gonna be replaced by someone for Captain. And I know that inflated ego of yours won't be able to take that," Victor growls, thrusting him back to his teammates and backs away to stand by Jackson.

"I'm surprised you're helping this guy, Mal," Connor speaks up, glaring at his friend, Mal Duncan.

"He just told me to follow me; I didn't know he wanted us to fight Rachel," Mal explains, shoving his way to Connor.

"What a load of crap. Just stay away from me," Connor grunts, shoving Mal away. Mal takes a few steps back with betrayal written all over his face, but Rachel can't be fooled. Mal obviously had no intentions of hanging out with Connor after he's been seen defending her. Most people that are friends with Artemis or Rachel are usually branded "outsiders".

"Let's just get the fuck out of here!" Tony, another athlete, yells, and attempts to shove his way past Wally and Roy. His attempts are stopped when Roy grabs him by the shoulder and swings him back around, thrusting him towards his teammates. Vinh growls, looking around at his surroundings.

"This isn't over!" he declares and brushes past Jackson and Victor. The athletes with him shuffle pass with sullen looks. They know they can't do anything to Connor or Victor since their skills are up to par, if not better, with Vinh. Jackson is protected by Coach Mel while Roy, Richard, and Garfield can fight off any opposition that comes their way. After all, they spar on their free time. Rachel and Kory walk towards the 7-man army as they begin to leave.

"Thanks for the help," Rachel acknowledges, nodding towards Victor and Connor in particular. "How did you guys know?"

"Connor and I were in the Varsity Football meeting when Vinh barged into the room. He grabbed a few of his guys and we, suspecting that it might have something to do with you and/or Kory, rushed over here. On the way, we ran into Gar and Jackson so we told them to follow us. Roy and Wally saw the four of us and followed. We arrived just as Vinh shoved Richard to the side," Victor explained.

"Well, you guys sure time your appearances pretty damn well. It's amazing how you stopped them before Vinh did something stupid." Kory can just hear her muttering, "Or before I did something regrettable…"

Right at that moment, Artemis shows up and wraps her arm around Rachel's shoulder. "So, what'd I miss, guys?"

"Too many things to list," Roy jokes, noticing that Wally is hiding a blush. "We should probably get to class. The bell's gonna ring soon."

They all agree and Rachel waits for Kory before the duo heads to French 2. Jackson and Victor gather their Chemistry books and walk back to the 300 building with Artemis and Wally going to their Vietnamese 2 class. Garfield, Connor, Richard, and Roy have classes in the 200 building while Megan will be heading to the 200 building as well. Rachel takes a deep breath and Kory pats her on the back. "It will be fine. Do not worry so much, Rachel."

Rachel sighs and mutters, "Here's to hoping…" The duo enters their class, officially beginning the first day of their sophomore year.

* * *

**Lefty: How I managed to survive Hell Week is beyond me…Anyways, here are everyone's schedules. You have no idea how hard it is to analyze each schedule over and over to see which person matches who. It was especially hard since I had to manipulate it a bit to begin my couple work. Alrighty, enough with me ranting. Here are their schedules:**

**Richard Grayson Grade 10 ID #: 2501589**

1. English and Literature Honors

2. Spanish 2

3. Chemistry

4. World History Honors

5. Pre-Calculus

6. Water Polo/Basketball

**Wally West Grade 10 ID #:4989596**

1. Vietnamese 2p

2. Chemistry

3. English and Literature Honors

4. World History

5. Algebra 2

6. Health

**Garfield Logan Grade 10 ID #:5318969**

1. World History

2. Geometry

3. Spanish 2

4. Chemistry

5. PE

6. English and Literature

**Victor Stone Grade 10 ID #: 15376828**

1. Chemistry

2. Spanish 2

3. Algebra 2/Trigonometry

4. English and Literature Honors

5. World History Honors

6. Football/Basketball

**Jackson Hyde Grade 10 ID #: 1928373**

1. Chemistry

2. Pre-Calculus

3. World History Honors

4. Spanish 2

5. English and Literature Honors

6. Water Polo

**Roy Harper Grade 10 ID #: 9738246**

1. Spanish 2

2. English and Literature Honors

3. Chemistry

4. World History

5. Algebra 2

6. PE

**Connor Kent Grade 10 ID #: 5748371**

1. Algebra 2

2. World History

3. Spanish 2

4. English and Literature

5. Chemistry

6. Football/Basketball

**Megan Morse Grade 10 ID #: 6758493**

0. Chemistry

1. Algebra 2/Trigonometry

2. AP Euro

3. French 1

4. English and Literature Honors

5. Intro to Art

6. Cheerleading

**Raven Roth Grade 10: ID # 1355893**

1. French 2

2. Algebra 2/Trigonometry

3. Chemistry

4. World History

5. English and Literature

6. PE

**Kory Anders Grade 10: # 2005708**

1. French 2

2. Algebra 2/Trigonometry

3. Chemistry

4. English and Literature

5. PE

6. World History Honors

**Artemis Crock Grade 10 ID #:1937582**

1. Vietnamese 2P

2. English and Literature

3. Chemistry

4. World History

5. Algebra 2

6. PE

**The IDS are just random numbers I mashed together. If I get complaints about my pairings in the future, I'll block anonymous reviewers and leave the reviewing to those with accounts. Also, this is only their 1st semester schedules, the 2nd semester may or may not change their schedules so for now, you're only seeing their 1st semester schedules.**


	3. Getting Started

**Lefty: I sho shorry I took sho long to update :(**

**May: Why are you speaking like that? …No, I don't want to know.**

**Lefty: I haven't turned on my laptop for so long and completely forgot. So, I'm starting anew with this chapter. Here are my replies to some of the reviews.**

**Guest: Yeah, I know how bad it can get when people try to take control of your story. I'm doing this for my own enjoyment. Reviews are welcome because they encourage me to update more frequently.**

**A-Bookworm-Named-Steph: The girl that bumped into Wally COULD be Jinx. ;) You'll see~**

**Randommonkeyz998: Thank you**

**Apocalypse Owner: Thanks, love your name, by the way**

**Sarcasm Intended: To be honest, I'm surprised they're not considered similar. After all, they both have jacked up family backgrounds.**

**Purpleraven23: I'm not telling anyone. I like keeping people on the edge of their seats ;)**

**Angel-Wings Naya: I'm leaving the pairing guessing to you all. Only Kitsura E. and 5stareader know who they are, and they aren't telling ;) Oh and Artemis and Raven are my fave characters as well :D**

**Now then…**

**On with the story!**

* * *

**Period 1**

**Room 336: Mr. James Tran**

The sound of backpacks thumping onto the ground and footsteps across the tiles can be heard in room 336 as Wally and Artemis stride into their Vietnamese 2P class. Artemis immediately walks to the back, away from most of the students as Wally follows, ready to protect her from any challengers. His grass-green eyes dart around, seeing if there is anyone else he knows. Artemis settles into a seat in the corner of the classroom and Wally drops his body onto the chair next to her. He swings his black Jansport backpack down with a 'thump' as he places his two Viet books and a notebook on his desk. Artemis does the same as a girl with waist-length brown hair with pink highlights slides into the seat in front of Artemis. She places her small, purple bag at her side and pulls out a sketchbook, instantly sketching out a face.

Wally gulps; this is the girl he had bumped into earlier. Artemis notices the slight change in Wally and instantly begins to wonder about the girl. She taps the girl's shoulder. If Wally won't tell her who it is, then she's just going to have to find out who it is herself. The girl turns around with a dazed look and pulls out her headphone from her ear as she waits for Artemis. Artemis extends her hand. "Hi, I'm Artemis Crock. Nice to meet you." She glances over to Wally and frowns. He continues sitting there, dazed, so she lightly punches him on the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" he asks, glaring at her.

"Dude, she's waiting for you to introduce yourself, Bay-…I mean, Wally." She had almost exposed Wally's nickname to some complete stranger.

He scratches the back of his head, nervously chuckling. He extends a hand towards the girl and says, "I'm Wally West. What about you?"

The girl shakes his hand and mutters quietly, "I'm Jennifer Leroux. I just came from France with my mother. You can call me Jenn or Jinx. Some of my old friends called me Jinx."

"Wait a minute, if you're from France, how come you're in Viet 2?" Artemis asks, confused.

Jinx abruptly smiles, as if this is a conversation she enjoys having. "Oh, it's because my mom and I travel around the world. She's a fortune teller and whenever she wants to go somewhere else, she takes me with her. I was in Vietnam for 10 years. I only stayed in France for two years. I spent most of my childhood in Vietnam, to be honest." Artemis nods, understanding dawning on her.

Before they can continue, the bells rings as their teacher, Mr. Tran stands up. He walks to the front of the class and waits for everyone to settle down. "Alright, welcome back to school. I'm Mr. Tran, but since there is more than one Mr. Tran, you can all call me Mr. Tran." He begins passing out a sheet of paper, the syllabus of his class. "I want you to bring home the paper and have your parents sign it."

He begins explaining his rules in complete detail about how you cannot go enter or exit his "bullet-proof curtains" unless for emergencies and how you cannot have food and drinks and Artemis drowns him out, continuing to stare at the sketch that Jinx is finishing up. She frowns, seeing her draw Cupid with his bow and arrow pointed at a rough sketch of Wally. Her face contorts into anger. Does this new girl honestly think she can take Wally away from her?

If that's what she thinks, then she's got something else coming to her…

* * *

**Period 1**

**Room 410: Monsieur René**

Rachel enters her French class with her head down, heading straight for the back of the class. Kory trails behind, also on the lookout for anyone that plans to pick on them. Rachel lightly places her books down and pops some earplugs into her ears, intending to drown out her classmates. She places her head down, trying to nap for a bit as Kory slides into the seat beside her. Rachel feels someone sitting on the desk in front of her and she groggily looks up, wondering why this person isn't scared of her. He seems to have long, white hair ruffled up as if he rushed to school without getting ready. He has a gray t-shirt on and black jeans, from what Rachel can see in the back. A striped scarf is wrapped around his neck to protect him from the cold.

She feels a tap on her shoulder and she glances over to Kory. "Rachel, Monsieur René is here." Rachel sighs, shifting herself her head still down. Kory knows that she's just tired, so she'll have something to tell René if he asks anything.

"Bonjour, class," he greets them with a French accent. "Most of you should remember me from French 1, but I know there are bound to be a few new students in our midst with an astonishing grasp of the French language."

He begins passing out a sheet of paper for them all. "Now, I know how shy you all are so I've decided to this little game called 'Friendly Bingo'! You will all go around, asking your fellow classmates for some information. Since there are 40 students, the first 10 will get a prize from me. You can ask each person for one thing only, and they must sign that box so I have proof that it wasn't you that did it. You will have until 8:45, after that, I will give you your syllabus and go over some of the general rules with you. Ready? Begin!" He steps back as the students surge towards each other, paper and pen in hand.

Rachel inwardly groans. She needs to talk to at least 4 people in order to get a prize. "Is it even worth it…? Will anyone even want to talk to me…?" She hangs her head low, staring at the boxes on the sheet of paper. She neatly scrawls her name, period, and date in the lines and just leans back as her music continues to play.

_Wake up call, _

_Caught you in the morning_

_With another one in my bed_

_Don't you care about me anymore?_

_Don't you care about me? I don't think so._

She feels a sheet of paper sliding on top of her desk. She glances up, seeing the white-haired boy looking at her with his piercing gray eyes. His mouth is covered by the scarf and he seems to not care who she is. She pulls out an earbud, waiting for him to speak. "Hello, I'm Malchior Nelson," he introduces himself with a British accent. "I was looking at this and realized that I can fill in the 'Loves Horror/Mystery stories' for you."

"Oh, really? Well…" Rachel quickly scans the paper. "I can write my name for that one too," she decides. The two exchange papers and Rachel writes her signature, finishing it with a quick sketch of a raven after her name. She hands it back to him and he looks at it.

"A raven?" he asks, a smile becoming evident under his scarf.

She nods, "I started doing this a while ago. I just felt comfortable with it."

Malchior nods and stands up. "Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to go and finish the rest of this paper. I hear that he's going to give the first 10 some extra credit points." With that, he walks off and Rachel sits there, following him with her eyes as One Republic continues playing.

_Stop and stare_

_I think I'm moving but I go nowhere._

_Yeah, I know that everyone gets scared_

_But I've become what I can't be, oh_

_Stop and stare_

_You start to wonder why you're here, not there_

_And you'd give anything to get what's fair_

_But fair ain't what you really need_

_Oh, can you see what I see?_

She feels a hand touch her shoulder, shaking her gently. "Rachel? Are you all right?" Kory asks worriedly. Rachel stares at the groups in the classroom as Monsieur René talks to Malchior. "Rachel?"

Rachel turns to her with a slight smile, shocking Kory. "I'm fine, Kory. Um…do you want me to sign my name for one of the lines?" she asks, hesitantly.

Kory stands there, stunned momentarily as she tries to process what her friend had just said. She brushes it off and nods. "I would love that, friend Rachel." As the two friends sign on each other's paper, Kory wonders if meeting this Malchior Nelson was exactly what Rachel needed to come out of her shell.

* * *

**Later that day, during Lunch…**

Garfield trudges through the hallways, whining to himself about how he doesn't have many classes with his friends and muttering darkly about how he has so many bad students in at least half of his classes thus far. Hopefully, he can get Victor or Richard to help him with his Geo homework. He's already skimmed ahead and every time he sees proofs, he has a strong urge to shudder in fear. He bends down to reach his locker as the person with the highest locker in his section maneuvers around him. "Sorry, Kory," he apologizes.

The two friends pull out the books for their next classes: Garfield with his English Literature book and Kory with her World History book. "It is no problem, Gar," she brushes off as the two walk over to their old eating area. During the summer, the school had moved a section of the lockers to the area where they eat. Rachel had decided to stay there, and just remember to move out of the way for the people using the lockers.

As Garfield drops his backpack down on the ground, Rachel appears with Artemis trailing behind her. Rachel places her backpack against a locker with no lock and leans against it. She pulls out a brown bag containing her ham and cheese sandwich, complete with a Caprisun and a bag of Doritos. Artemis sets her books down, her lunch on top. She had bought a sub from one of the lunch carts that are scattered around the quad area. They had given her a "Welcome back cookie" and a small carton of orange juice.

Rachel curses her luck; she seems to have a 4th period curse that has been following her since her 7th grade. She always seems to have horrible students placed into her 4th period and the teacher is always too mellow to do much. Or maybe it's just because she gets picked on by the students and the teacher doesn't seem to care. Well, the teacher seems all right…maybe it's just the students in there.

Artemis slides over and leans against the locker next to Rachel, and mutters something incoherently under her voice. "Why the fuck do we have to be stuck with those bastards…?" she curses.

"Who is in your class?" Kory asks as Garfield skims through his Geometry book, feeling more and more scared by the aspect of proofs.

"We have Dylan, Jason, Frank, Tommy, Paul, Blanca, and a few of _those_ kids," Artemis ticks off the names with venom. Rachel nods, rather miffed about their fate. The kids that they are mentioning are students that are "straight up on drugs and are proud of it" as they say it to those that ask. They haven't learned their names yet, but Rachel just knows that they are going to cause so much trouble that she might punch someone in the face.

"Dude, Dylan's in my Geo class and he won't keep his stupid mouth shut!" Garfield complains. The trio sighs, cursing their luck.

"Why is it that every time I show up, I hear you guys complaining about someone or something?" Richard asks as he, Victor, Wally, and Roy appear with trays and books in hand.

"Because fate is a bastard and Karma is a bitch," Rachel mutters, trying not to look at Richard. Artemis rolls her eyes, hoping Richard didn't notice her trying to avoid him. You see, our little…er…our short, purple-haired, amethyst-colored eyes high school student has a little crush on the "Boy Genius", Richard Grayson. Artemis suspects that he knows, and he could possibly return her feelings, but Artemis had promised Rachel not to do her part and get them together. She had agreed that she will let time take its course, wondering how this will end.

Despite the situations around Artemis and Rachel, there is still romance brewing in the cauldron of their friends. After all, Jackson had gotten together with Tula sometime during their freshmen year and she was almost 100% positive that Conner and Megan had gotten together sometime during the summer. She sighs, and Rachel stares at her in concern. Artemis tells her with her eyes that everything is fine and she sees Jackson walking out of the 200 building hand in hand with Tula.

Rachel follows her gaze and looks down, taking a bite out of her sandwich. Richard pulls out his schedule, committing his schedule to memory. "Yo, whaddya got next for 5th?" Victor asks, leaning over.

"Pre-calc. Then I've got basketball practice, and after that, I'm heading out to the pool for my try-outs."

"Look at the smart-ass over here," Artemis chuckles, elbowing Rachel playfully. "He's the only one in our group that's got Pre-calc."

"While I have Geo…with stupid Dylan and Terrence," Garfield complains.

"Man, if you hate it so much, ask if you can transfer outta the class."

"Dude, the other classes are chock full of the mean kinds of freshmen and other junky sophomores. Dylan and Terrence are the only two guys that are probably gonna be causing a lot of mayhem in the class. I think I'm just gonna ignore them…"

Wally chews his burger thoughtfully, staring at something in the distance. Artemis follows his gaze and sees him staring, almost wistfully, at Jinx. A cold hand clutches her heart, as worry washes over her. Is he going to fall for Jinx? When she's already so close to him, he's just going to dump her and become Jinx's boyfriend?

Roy crumples up his lunch, and stands up to throw it away when Connor and Megan appear. Connor is holding a book at his side as his left hand hides behind their bodies with Megan's right hand as well. Even from afar, Rachel can tell that they are holding hands. Artemis grins, "What took you lovebirds so long?"

Megan looks away, a blush creeping over her face as Connor stutters. "Uh…um…I-I was waiting for her outside of her 4th period class."

"Lovebirds," Richard teases. "Wish I had someone to do that too. Then the girls would just stop fawning over me."

"You and me both, Richard. I think I've got another admirer…" Victor mutters worriedly, pulling out a small, crumpled note. Wally and Roy immediately pounce on the opportunity.

"What, you got someone, lover boy?" Roy begins.

"What's her name?" Wally asks.

"I don't know the girl's name, but she says that she's in my Chem and Spanish class. I have this odd feeling that we have 5th period together too…"

"Do you mean Sarah Simms?" Richard asks. Rachel looks up. Where had she heard that name before?

"Hey, Rachel, isn't she in our…3rd period?" Artemis begins, going over the students' faces and matching names with them in her mind.

"…Possibly," Rachel answers slowly.

The boys abruptly stand up, picking up their books and slinging duffel bags and backpacks on. "Where are you guys off to?" Artemis asks.

"We've got some sports meetings. All of us…" Wally mutters, a bit irritated.

"But…I don't-" Garfield begins

"Uh, yeah, you do," Wally interrupts, shooting him a meaningful look. Rachel spots the realization dawning on him and immediately begins to grow suspicious. Artemis narrows her eyes at them, trying to figure out what is going on. What's going on with the boys? Kory and Megan don't seem to want to protest, so the two girls brush it off.

As the boys walk off, Connor reluctantly releases his hand from Megan. He mutters something in her ear and pecks her swiftly on the cheek, immediately following the boys. Megan slumps down, her face beet red.

"There is something _definitely_ going on," Rachel begins.

"What are we supposed to do though? Follow after them?" Artemis pauses to swiftly check the time, looking at her phone. "We've only got 10 minutes left of lunch. We'll just ask them later."

Rachel admits defeat, leaning back against the lockers. "I have this feeling that they're planning something big. But I'm not sure if it's going to affect the whole school or just us. Kory, Megan, do you guys know what's up?"

Megan shakes her head, concern showing on her face. "Do you think they're going to do something bad?"

"I do not think they would be those kinds of people. I believe that they are just getting something together for us," Kory reassures, ever the mother in their group.

"Well, I hope nothing bad happens…" Rachel mutters.

She wonders if this school year is going to finally make her snap…

* * *

**Elsewhere on the school campus…**

"Richard, man, are you sure about this?" Victor asks as the male teens continue walking through the school.

"I'm positive. If this is what it takes, then I'll do it…no matter how much I don't want to." He pauses, gritting his teeth. "And I _really_ don't want to…" He frowns under his sunglasses as Wally catches up to him.

"Dude, it's not worth it. What if it turns out to be wrong? Why don't we just talk to her to get some more info before we do anything," Wally attempts to convince Richard.

"Guys, I have to do this. This is the only way I'll know for sure."

As Victor and Wally attempt to convince their friend, Roy and Connor trail behind. "I don't know, Roy, but I feel like this is a really bad idea…"

"Well, we'll know for sure when it happens. I honestly don't know how this is going to turn out, so I, for one, look forward to this."

Connor looks at the trio ahead of them and glances at Garfield. "What's your opinion on this, Gar?"

Garfield looks up and contemplates on the situation. "I have a feeling that she's going to strangle him. If not her, then Artemis or Kory. So…I think we should make sure Richard's got his will written and that we get something from him," the youngest sophomore in the group replies with a cheeky grin.

Connor smirks at the joke. "Well, I call his sunglasses."

"Pfft, whatever. I call dibs on his hair gel. It looks so badass."

Meanwhile, Roy is wondering about the possible outcomes in this situation. Richard could get his ass kicked, or he could embarrass himself beyond redemption. "I wonder how this year is going to turn out. Already, there's a plan brewing," he muses.

"Guys, no matter what you say, it's only going to strengthen my resolve more. So you might as well stop. I'm almost positive that she likes me too, so this is the only thing I can think of to prove it. Trust me…it's going to hurt me a lot when I see her expression…"

Victor shakes his head, letting the teen make his choice. Wally steps back, deciding that his friend won't listen to reason so he might as well just stop.

The teens walk up to the girl that Roy, Artemis, and Rachel had encountered. She glares menacingly at Roy, but immediately smiles when she sees Richard appear. Richard gags inwardly, momentarily regretting his plan. "Oh, hello there, Richard," she begins, slipping in a flirty tone underneath. Richard's friends quickly glance at each other, wondering if their friend has lost his mind.

Richard coughs, sweat beginning to pour down his face. "Um…would you…" Kitten bats her eyes, her fake eyelashes as she waits for him. "W-would you l-like to go out…w-with me…?"

* * *

**Lefty: …I honestly think my life is slowly leaking into this story…that isn't a good sign…**

**May: Just saying, Lefty has a nonexistent boyfriend….for now. So, uh, she knows NOTHING about romance. **_**Nothing**_**, so most of the romance and fluffy stuff is rather stereotypical and from what she sees at school. And she takes them and makes them even more…uh…extravagant.**

**Lefty: Oh and don't expect an update from this story or "Thanagarian" for a while. The earliest I'll update is possibly when winter break begins…which is the last two weeks of December -_-**

**Ah, and it's great to be back writing this story, everyone! Review! ^_^**


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